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Bluto
Bluto (sometimes known as Brutus) is a cartoon character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his Thimble Theatre comic strip (later renamed Popeye); he made his first appearance September 12 of that year. Fleischer Studios adapted him the next year (1933), to be the recurring villain in their theatrical Popeye animated series, derived from the Segar strip. He is generally thought to be based on Tyrone Power Sr's character 'Red Flack' in the 1930 movie The Big Trail.' Character Bluto or Brutus is Popeye's nemesis; he, like Popeye, is attracted to Olive Oyl, and usually attempts to seduce her. However, with the help of some spinach, Popeye invariably ends up defeating him. Bluto is a ruggedly masculine brute with a full beard and muscleman physique. He routinely uses his immense physical superiority to win temporary advantage over Popeye, although he often demonstrates ability for crafty tactical planning as well. Popeye is both his friend and the constant victim of his bullying. In many cartoons Olive is initially smitten by Bluto's chiseled brawn and beguiling looks. He is given iconic masculine roles--lifeguard, cowboy, circus strongman, lumberjack, boxing champ, Tarzan, etc--and is often shown wearing muscle shirts, tank tops, tight jeans, and abbreviated swimwear that emphasize his manly appeal. He has the ability to make Popeye look the fool by flexing his well-honed muscles. He displays much sexual harassment, tea-bags Popeye, Farts on Popeye, and beats the sailor hands down at everything from fashion sense to athletic ability. By the end of most shorts, however, the victorious Popeye brings Olive back to her senses and she views her momentary love interest as nothing more than a vile scoundrel deserving of whatever brutal destruction Popeye has heaped upon him. There ''are some cartoons that show Popeye and Bluto as friends and navy buddies, although Bluto usually turns on Popeye when an object of interest (such as money, a goal, or Olive) is put between them. A prime example of this is the cartoon We're On Our Way to Rio. (1944) From the beginning Bluto has attracted a sizable cult following whose adherents view him as a dedicated bodybuilder who steadfastly eschews the use of spinach to secure an advantage in his contests with Popeye. They see Popeye as an unwitting dolt who is consumed by jealousy of his physical and mental superior and who must resort to a cheat substance in order to achieve his tainted victory in every outing. The ambiguity of who was actually the 'better man' was particularly marked in certain cartoons of the Famous Studios era (1944-1957). In more recent Popeye cartoons, such as the computer-animated movie produced by Mainframe Entertainment, Bluto and Popeye are back to being good friends with Bluto being somewhat afraid of Popeye, although Bluto getting mind-controlled puts a wedge between them once again. The Bluto/Brutus issue After the theatrical Popeye cartoon series went out of production in 1957, Bluto's name was changed to Brutus because it was (wrongly) believed that Paramount Pictures, distributors of the Fleischer Studios (later Famous Studios) cartoons, owned the rights to the name "Bluto". (King Features owned the name all along as Bluto had been originally created for the comic strip. However, due to poor research, they failed to realize this, and renamed him Brutus to avoid copyright issues.)http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mpopeye.html. "Brutus" appears in the 1960-1962 Popeye television cartoons (with his physical appearance changed, making him obese rather than muscular), but he is again "Bluto" (and back to his original muscular physique) in the 1978 Hanna-Barbera Popeye series and the 1980 ''Popeye'' movie, as well as Hanna-Barbera's 1987 Popeye and Son series. Brutus was also the name Nintendo used for their arcade game based on the property. Another subtle difference between the character of Brutus from Bluto is that while Bluto was often portrayed as a fellow sailor who also sought to win the heart of Olive Oyl, Brutus was portrayed as a generic villain, or bank robber, who showed no romantic interest in Olive. Instead, he usually took her hostage, leaving Popeye to rescue her. Prior to the name change to Brutus, the bearded strongman was known as "The Big Guy Who Hates Popeye", "Mean Man" and "Sonny Boy" in the comic strip and comic books. The name "Brutus" was first used on Popeye related products in 1960 and in print in 1962. It is generally accepted that Bluto and Brutus are one and the same. However, Ocean Comics published a one-shot "Popeye" comic book where Bluto and Brutus were twin brothers. Bobby London, who drew the "Popeye" daily strip for six years, wrote and illustrated "The Return of Bluto" story where the 1932 version of Bluto returns and discovers a number of fat, bearded bullies have taken his place, calling themselves "Brutus" (each one being a different version of Popeye's rival). Voiced by Bluto was voiced by a number of actors, including William Pennell, Gus Wickie, Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colvig, and Jackson Beck. Beck also supplied the voice for Brutus in the early 1960s. In the 1980 live-action movie, he is portrayed by Paul L. Smith. In The All New Popeye Hour and Popeye and Son, he is voiced by Allan Melvin. Other characters In the animated cartoons, Popeye's foe is almost always Bluto, functioning in some capacity—musclebound sailor, street tough, theater hypnotist, Arab sheik, competetive swimmer, etc. However, in the Famous era shorts there have also been "original" one-time characters with Bluto-like personalities and mannerisms such the blond, beardless lifeguard in "Beach Peach" (Jackson Beck voiced this character using the same voice) or the boxing champion in "Punch and Judo" (with a shaved head and altogether different voice). Other Media Bluto appeared in the Robot Chicken episode "The Sack" voiced by Dave Coulier. In a segment that parodies the Popeye cartoons in the style of It's a Wonderful Life, Popeye and Bluto have opened up a bank together in shot that would show what the world would look like without Wimpy. The Bluto/Brutus name debate has become a topic of interest on The Rick Emerson radio program. External links *Popeye's Poopdeck: Bluto/Brutus * [http://www.toonopedia.com/popeye.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia Popeye page] *Bluto's He-Man Club (Yahoo group) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/blutoshemanclub/ *Rick Emerson's official website Category:characters Category:Watercooler Category:Policy Category:Article management templates Category:General wiki templates Category:Image wiki templates